


They Play The Violin

by heartsflush



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alcohol, Gender-Neutral Apprentice, Music, Other, Post-Book VII, Strong Language, pls don't spoil book 8 for me i have no keys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 07:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13026159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsflush/pseuds/heartsflush
Summary: A few days after their breakup with Julian, Alexis finds themselves in the Rowdy Raven on volunteer performance night. They decide to show off a bit.





	They Play The Violin

**Author's Note:**

> heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy guess who's in arcana hell (hint: it's me)
> 
> this is the first work featuring my fan apprentice, alexis! my working backstory is that they used to be a bard in nevivon before coming to vesuvia, and they're real heckin good at music. they're also very much in love with julian devorak (but honestly who isnt)
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

Alexis sighed into their tea, creating small ripples in the warm liquid. It was two mornings after their breakup with Julian; they nearly didn’t have the strength to return to the palace, but they were desperate to uncover whether or not Julian was truly guilty, and currently, allying themselves with Nadia was the best way to do so.

The Countess, seated beside them, gave Alexis a concerned look. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

Alexis nodded, knowing that if they told Nadia the truth, she’d probably faint of shock or something of the like. “Just a rough night, Nadia. I’ll be fine.”

Nadia bit her lip, looking like she wanted to say something, but she held her tongue. At that moment, Portia walked into the room with a tray of pastries. Alexis made eye contact with her for a fleeting moment before returning their gaze to their tea.

Portia set the platter down on the table before clearing her throat. “Your Majesty,” she said. “Soon, the courtiers will arrive.”

Nadia sighed. “I’d nearly forgotten them. Thank you for reminding me, Portia.” The Countess turned to Alexis, who shifted uncomfortably at the thought of another long discussion with the nobles. “Alexis, you have the day to yourself,” Nadia continued, smiling at the apprentice. “We’ve about ten days left until the Masquerade, so I suggest you use your time wisely, but you can do whatever you wish.”

Alexis perked up. “Oh, um, thank you.”

Nadia smiled. “Of course.” She then stood and left the room, leaving Alexis and Portia draped in awkward silence.

After a while, Portia shifted her feet and looked up at Alexis, sensing their discomfort. “Um...Do you need to talk about anything?”

Alexis contemplated for a moment (a rare occurrence), then sighed. “Yeah, that’d be helpful, I think.”

 

The two sat outside Portia’s small cottage in the gardens, Alexis with their chair teetering on its back legs. They had their braid in their hands and were wringing it with frustration and sadness as Portia looked on with an expression of sympathy.

“And it’s just aggravating,” Alexis fumed, “because it seems like everyone in Vesuvia thinks they know what’s best for me! I can handle myself; I’m a fucking adult!”

Portia nodded. “Ilya has always been that way, but it’s because he genuinely doesn’t want you to get hurt,” she replied, placing her chin in her hand.

“He’s not even the worst,” Alexis continued, sitting forward in their chair. “I understand Julian’s reasoning. I don’t agree with it, but I understand it.  _Asra_ , on the other hand, makes no fucking sense. Just because he has history with Julian or _whatever_ doesn’t mean he gets to dictate how I live my life!”

Alexis huffed, crossing their arms. “Also, he was a total dick to Julian when we talked about it. Sure, Jules is melodramatic, but that’s part of his charm. I think the phrase ‘ouroboros of self-flagellation’ was _completely_ uncalled for.”

At that, Portia couldn’t help but giggle a bit. “Admittedly, that does sound like Ilya,” she quipped. “But I agree; you’re perfectly capable of making your own decisions.”

Alexis sighed. “What should I do, Portia?”

“If you want my opinion, you shouldn’t force it,” Portia answered, straightening up. “That’ll just get you into more trouble. But I think…”

She trailed off, earning her a curious look from Alexis. She smiled. “I think that if you, no pun intended, play your cards right, Ilya will realize that there’s no way in hell you’d let yourself get fucked over, even with his fugitive nonsense and self-deprecation thrown in the mix.”

Alexis smiled. “You’re damn right,” they replied, sitting up straight. “Thank you, Portia.”

Portia smiled right back. “Of course.”

 

Later in the evening, Alexis decided that they needed a drink. Badly.

Whispering their plans to Portia before they went, they slipped out of the palace and into town, following the aqueducts as they went. Soon enough, they found themselves outside the Rowdy Raven. They contemplated for a moment, recalling their evening there with Julian a few days ago, then decided “fuck it” and headed on in.

The Raven was, true to its name, rowdy. It seemed to be some kind of performance night; semi-inebriated performers played instruments and sang for a fully inebriated crowd. Alexis threw a glance to the booth where Julian usually sat, seeing it empty, then went straight for the bar.

“Haven’t seen you around for a while,” the barkeep observed as Alexis settled into a stool. “What can I get for ya?”

Alexis glanced over the various bottles of alcohol on the shelf and eventually decided on a simple mug of ale. As the bartender poured their drink, Alexis glanced to where the players were starting a tavern chant. “What’s going on tonight?” Alexis asked as they took their drink from the bartender.

“Monthly volunteer performance night,” the bartender answered. “Mostly a chance for us folks with no professional musical training to have fun without being pressured to be good. You can sign up, if you’d like.”

Alexis glanced to the stage; all manners of instruments had been laid out for whoever wished to play them. Off to the side, they saw a violin leaning against a stool, and their heart fluttered for a reason they couldn’t place.

“I...can play that…” Alexis mused quietly. They then turned back to the bartender and asked him to put their name on the list. He smiled and started scribbling on a sheet of paper near the stage.

Alexis finished their drink, threw some coins on the counter, then slid off their stool and walked towards the stage, admiring the group now performing some kind of chorale. A few more performances went by before Alexis’s name was called.

They walked up onto the stage and picked up the violin, tightening the bow and tuning it without really thinking on how they knew to do that. They lifted the violin to their chin and began to play a lively jig, the music pouring out of them from an unknown source. Although they were the only one on the stage, the sounds of other instruments filled the room as well.

Alexis knew they were casting some kind of magic, but they didn’t know what kind. Quite frankly, they didn’t really care, because the crowd was loving it. They moved about the stage with the grace of a dancer, their performance somehow unhindered by their movements.

About a third of the way through the song, Alexis’s eyes were drawn towards the door, and they nearly stumbled.

There, standing in the doorway, was Julian Devorak.

They managed to avoid direct eye contact as Julian looked up at them, presumably surprised to see them. As they came to the end of the phrase, Alexis made a split second decision.

They finished out the lilting, compound melody, then switched suddenly to a simple meter; it was an old trick, but a metric modulation made the song seem to go faster. They decided that if they were going to play for Julian, they were going to show the fuck off.

Their fingers flew across the strings as the subdivisions of the melody got smaller and smaller. They spared a glance at Julian, who had now moved to the edge of the stage, staring at them in awe. They smirked, then returned their focus to the song, now well into the bridge.

They shifted their fingers further up the fingerboard to play much higher notes as the crowd’s excitement swelled. They drew out long, high pitches as the bridge drew to a close, then ended the bridge with a flourish as percussive sounds rang out from nowhere, the only indication that the song hadn’t ended. The crowd applauded wildly as they wiped some sweat from their brow, and after a few phrases of percussion had passed, they raised the violin once more and returned to the lilting, compound melody of the first section.

They played through the melody once more before ending the song concisely and stylishly. The crowd was in an uproar around them as they took a bow, breathing heavily. They glanced to Julian and smiled, gesturing with their head towards the booth. He nodded, still in a bit of a daze from the performance, and started making his way over.

Alexis set the violin back down by the stool and hopped off the stage, sliding into the booth across from Julian. A moment of silence passed before Julian cleared his throat and said “I didn’t know you played.”

Alexis giggled. “I didn’t either, till just now,” they admitted, folding their hands in front of them. “That, or I did before, and couldn’t remember.”

Julian nodded. There was silence for a minute longer before he opened his mouth to speak again.

“I--”

“Listen,” Alexis interrupted. “I know what you said, and I get it. Really, I do. But I think you and I both know that I can handle myself.”

“That’s not--”

“I’m not finished,” Alexis stated, looking him right in the eye. “The point, Julian Devorak, is that I love you. A lot. No murder charges or curse or fugitive status could ever change that. No amount of you thinking you don’t deserve it will ever change that. You’re stuck with me and these feelings, whether we like it or not.”

Alexis reached across the table for his hand and grasped it in theirs. “I’m not going to force you into anything you don’t want. But I don’t want you to think that I’m scared off by danger, and I don’t want you to think you don’t deserve something that I am perfectly willing to give you. Okay?”

Julian squeezed Alexis’s hand tight and gazed into their eyes, not exactly knowing what to say. He finally laughed to himself and said, “From the moment I met you, I knew it would somehow end up like this.”

Alexis snorted. “From the moment I threw a bottle at your head?”

He barked out a laugh. “That was it.”

Julian brought Alexis’s hand to his lips and smiled against their knuckles. “Nothing I do will deter you from this course, and truth be told, I don’t want to leave it, either. I guess it just took a stern talking-to to make it certain.”

His eye met Alexis’s as he pressed his lips to their fingers once more before setting their hand back down. “My strings are unstrung, my dear.”

Alexis chuckled. “Really? A violin joke?”

Julian smiled. “Of course.”

He stood and offered Alexis his arm. As they stood and took it, he leaned close and pressed a kiss to their cheek.

“I am undone.”

**Author's Note:**

> title and julian's last few lines are a reference to he plays the violin from 1776 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nopoNkjV5NI
> 
> the song alexis plays is david's jig by natalie macmaster - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z7Q9HQ8Mao


End file.
